Our Roots Take Flight
by mebe1993
Summary: My take on what happens after 220. Probably gonna be pretty fluffy. I hope you like it!
1. All In

**Hi! Hello! How are you? Thank you for reading my little ole story. This is something that had been swimming around in my head after the preview for 221. (Can I just 220 was absolutely flawless) I'm sure the show is going to go nothing like what I am envisioning for this story but a girl can hope. Right?**

The sun peaked through the blinds in Olivia's bedroom causing her to roll over away from the light. She collided with a warm mass and opened her eyes to find the evidence she had been hoping for to prove that her dreams from the night before were actually a reality. Fitzgerald Grant, the president, was lying in her bed, under her sheets, nude. She took a moment to take in his features, his strong jaw, curly hair which had become wild from sleep (among other things), the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. Her eyes left him only to glance up at the clock which reminded her that the real world continued on outside the walls of her bedroom and if she had any chance of making it to her office at a reasonable hour she needed to get up now.

Olivia rolled out of the bed, careful not to wake Fitz who, because he didn't have to fix the hair that had been ruined the night before in the shower, could sleep for a little while longer. She walked into the bathroom, showered, brushed her teeth, and put on a bath robe before walking to the mirror to begin straightening her curly locks. She was almost finished when she heard Fitz's bare feet on the bathroom floor tile.

"You know, a man doesn't like to wake up to an empty bed. Especially when they were sharing said bed with a very beautiful, very sexy woman." Fitz placed a kiss on Olivia's shoulder before wrapping his arms around her waist. Olivia leaned back into him enjoying how easily they fit into one another.

"Well," she began as she continued her hair, "If someone wouldn't have done me up against the shower wall, I wouldn't have to do my hair and would still be in bed with you."

"I heard no complaints last night, in fact, you seemed to enjoy yourself." Fitz ran his fingers through the newly straightened hair that covered Olivia's back. "How does this happen?"

"What?"

"This!" Fitz answered holding up a lock of her hair. "It was straight, then it was curly, now its straight. How does that happen? Magic?" Fitz asked his eyes glued to her hand as she worked the flat iron through her hair.

Olivia looked back at him and chuckled. "No. Not magic. Just a blow dryer, a flat iron, and a collection of hair products." Taking in his confused expression she continued. "My hair is what you call natural. That means that since there is not a product in it to keep it straight, it gets curly when its wet, hence what happened in the shower last night. The flat iron straightens it back out to what it is now."

"Ooookay." Fitz placed another kiss on Olivia's shoulder before releasing her waist. "I am going to back to bed where I expect you to be in 3 minutes without this robe." Fitz rubbed his hand down Olivia's silk covered arm. "Alright?"

"I'll see what I can do Mr. President." She winked at him.

"I will come back in here and get you if I have to." With that he walked out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom, making himself comfortable under the crisps white sheets.

Exactly 3 minutes later, Olivia walked out of the bathroom, threw her bathrobe down and climbed under the sheets that Fitz had pulled back for her. "Okay. You got me here-" Before she could finish her sentence she felt Fitz's lips on hers. Happy to let the sentence die, she sought out Fitz's tongue with her own. They were so lost in each other that they didn't hear the front door open and they certainly didn't notice the fuming suit covered body approaching the bedroom doorway.

"GET UP!" A red-faced Cyrus barreled through the entrance way and gave the couple a look that would scare lesser humans. "ARE YOU BOTH OUT OF YOUR DAMN MINDS?!" Olivia covered her face, hiding behind Fitz's chest as he sat up to look at Cyrus.

"Cyrus, I would like to remind you that I am the President and you cannot speak to me that way."

"WELL, YOU WON'T BE FOR LONG IF YOU KEEP THIS UP." Cyrus gestured toward the bed and its occupants. "You are the president. THE PRESIDENT. Or did that little fact slip your mind while you were in the throws of passion?" Cyrus finished through gritted teeth.

It was now Fitz's turn to raise his voice. "CYRUS! YOU CANNOT AND YOU WILL NOT WALK INTO OLIVIA'S APARTMENT AND SPEAK TO EITHER OF US THIS WAY. I am the President and I demand respect and as you are a guest in her house, no matter how unwelcome, I demand the same for Olivia." Fitz glanced at Olivia who had remained unusually silent throughout the conversation.

Cyrus took a deep breath as he looked between the couple in front of him. "Can you at least put some clothes on so we can discuss this as adults?" Without waiting for their responses, Cyrus turned and walked out of the room towards the front of the apartment.

Fitz turned to Olivia who still had yet to say anything. "Liv-"

"Its okay. I'm okay. We knew this would happen. We were expecting it. Right? We can handle Cyrus." She looked up into Fitz's eyes with a smile.

"Yeah. We did. We can." Fitz kissed her quickly.

"Let's get dressed and figure out how to handle this. Let's fix this." She got up from the bed and Fitz followed her lead. They turned around and pulled up the covers, returning the bed to its original state before preparing for the hurricane that waited for them outside.

Olivia and Fitz found themselves sitting in front of a less than impressed Cyrus, who at this point was ready to throw himself off of a cliff after everything that he had to deal with over the last few days.

"Okay so let's start with the absolute basics. Did either of you watch the First Lady's interview?"

Fitz and Olivia shared a look before turning back to Cyrus and answering at the same time. "No"

"What?! What were you-? No. You know what. Don't answer that. I can't-" He looked at both of them again and addressed the President. "You need to get back to the White House. NOW. Everything is falling apart and you are here playing house."

"Cyrus. I am not-" Fitz began but stopped when he heard Liv speak.

"Fitz. You need to go back to the White House. You have a job to do and you need to get on top of this. I can fix this but that is never going to work with you here and not sitting in the Oval."

Cyrus stood up "Yes, finally, a voice of reason. Listen to her Fitz. We need to get you out of here, which is going to be nearly impossible since the sun is up, and back to that big beautiful symbol of the American democracy that you call a home so that you-"

"Liv, no you are not fixing this. You fixing me is what hurt us the first time so you have to let me handle this. Okay? This is my problem and I am going to handle it so don't fix anything." Fitz looked at her with eyes that said he meant business.

"But if you just-"

"No. Do not under any circumstances try and fix this, Livvie."

"But-"

"No. Liv." He said with a chuckle. "Cyrus we can head back to the White House now." That was all Cyrus had to hear. He was out of the door in a flash, headed towards the elevator. Fitz turned back to Olivia. "So I have to go."

"That you do Mr. President." She said standing up to look at him, a smile on her lips and in her eyes.

Cyrus turned around at the door giving a warning look to Fitz. "I am going out here and pushing the call button on this elevator. If I am in this elevator and it closes before you get out here, so help me God."

Fitz turned around making eye contact with Cyrus. "CY!" Cyrus turned around with a huff and hit the call button with much more force than what was necessary. "I better get out of here before Dad grounds me." Fitz brought his hands up to Olivia face.

"Yes. I hear he's pretty strict so I think you should." She said with a giggle.

"I love you" Fitz breathed as his forehead fell to Olivia's.

She looked at him for a moment before speaking again "I love you too." Their lips met in a kiss that could have gone on longer if it were not for the dinging heard from the elevator as it opened. Much to their displeasure they separated, Olivia straightened his tie and walked him to the door. Fitz turned to kiss her quickly before walking out the door onto the elevator.

Olivia walked into her office with a little extra pep in her step. Her head was a little bit higher than usual. She looked at the table in front of her. All the people that she had helped at some point, the people who at this point where like her family. Taking a deep breath, rounding her shoulders, and focusing her eyes on the wall behind her she spoke.

"What do we have?"

**So let me know what you guys think. Should I continue or not. I feel like there is a lot that I can do with this but would really like to get your opinions.**


	2. Breathe

**What is up peeps? I just want to say thank you for all the reviews. I truly appreciate every one of them. And I may or may not have taken some of the suggestions you guys left and put them in my back pocket. (hint hint) **

**Before we get into the chapter I wanna get your opinion on something...I was wondering how you guys would feel if I focused more on Olivia and Fitz and less (much less) on the Mole. Let me know what you think. **

**Here goes nothing. I hope you enjoy!**

After the delicate operation that was sneaking Fitz out of Olivia's apartment and back to the White House, he found himself heading to the Oval doing his best to ignore the looks from everyone he passed along the way. Hot on his heels, Cyrus had been insisting that everyone they pass put their eyes back into their heads. As soon as they made it into the Oval and the door closed, Cyrus was ready to go into battle. "What do you need me to, sir? How are we going to handle this?"

"Can you get my wife down here?" Even more than it did before, the word wife felt strange coming out of his mouth in reference to Mellie.

"Yes, sir." Cyrus turned and headed out the door he came in leaving it open for Lauren, his secretary.

"Mr. President, I have today's schedule of events as well as a few documents that need your signature." She said from the doorway waiting for a response.

"Thank you Lauren. You can just leave them on my desk." He glanced at her quickly before sitting down on one of the two sofas in the middle of the room. She walked over to the desk and placed the papers in the center and turned to look at the President. She took a second to take in his appearance before turning and walking out the door closing it behind her.

No longer wearing his jacket, Fitz made himself comfortable on the sofa, leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Taking it all in. He just needed a minute to think about everything that had happened last night and how wonderful it had all been. His thoughts were interrupted by a knocking on the door. "Come in."

Mellie walked in and closed the door behind her but did not step any further into the room, choosing instead to stand with her back against the door. "Have you come to your senses?" Her tone was one that Fitz had never heard before.

"What, you're not going to jump around and cheer about how exciting it is to be summoned?" Fitz stood up from where he was sitting but maintained the distance between them.

With a roll of her eyes, Mellie repeated her question. "Have you come to your senses?"

Choosing to not give her the satisfaction of an answer Fitz continued on with what he wanted to say. "Do you have anything to say for yourself, Mellie?"

"'What do you want me to say? I did what I had to do in order for you to get your head on straight."

"Get my head on str.." Fitz stopped mid-sentence shaking his head. "Is that what this was? You think, thought, going on national television and telling all of America that I had an affair, one you encouraged, was a good idea. As a way to teach me a lesson?"

"I told you to stay away from Olivia Pope and focus on your presidency. You're making a joke of this office."

At this point Fitz was seething with anger. "Mellie."

"And you ran straight into her arms, didn't you Fitz? That's what you always do. You run to your precious Olivia. You don't think about anyone but yourself."

"Me. I don't think of anyone else. What about you, Mellie? Did you think about your kids before your little declaration. What this did to them? They are at school, away from their family, alone, and you decide to call me a philanderer on national television." Fitz took a deep breath before looking at Mellie with eyes cold enough to match hers. "I'm not the one who's selfish, Mellie, you are."

Mellie looked at the floor for a full minute before returning her eyes to Fitz. "What did you call me in here for?" Mellie asked trying to control her emotions.

Fitz took a deep and his face softened. "Believe or not, I called you here to apologize to you. I know I've hurt you and for that I am sorry. We definitely aren't in love with one another, but I would like to think that after over 20 years of marriage we loved each other in some sense. You didn't deserve the things I've done to you and I wish things didn't have to be this way." Fitz looked at Mellie hoping to gage her reaction to his words. He was unsuccessful.

"Fitz?" she began. "What-" but she was interrupted by Fitz.

"I want a divorce"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Emotions were running high in OPA. Everyone was stressed by the lack of progress in their latest case. "Let's all take a break. Everybody take an hour. Go get some coffee; take a nap. Okay?" Olivia's thought was interrupted by the ringing of her phone. She took one last look at everyone at the table before going into her office.

"What?"

"You can't do this."

"I can do whatever I please."

"Olivia you are brilliant and I like to think we both want the same thing. Do you honestly think there will be no effects to all of this. You're going to ride off into the sunset?"

"Look Cyrus, I don't have time for your games. You say something to worm your way into my brain, I give in, then you are back to trying to control us all like puppets."

"How do you think this is all going to work out? Life isn't always filled with happy endings."

"Cyrus-"

"No, just hear me out for a second." Cyrus took a deep breath then continued. "If I thought, honestly thought, that this was a good idea, I would be the biggest supporter of you two but-"

Tired of Cyrus and what he had to say, Olivia interrupted him. "Okay. Goodbye, Cyrus" Before he could say anything else Olivia hung up the phone, ending the conversation. She knew exactly where it was going, and frankly, she didn't want to think of the bigger picture. She wanted Fitz.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Fitz looked up from the documents he was going over and pushed a button on his phone alerting Lauren so that she would come to his office. Prompt, as usual, Lauren opened the door to the Oval. "Yes, sir."

"Lauren, I need you to make a phone call for me."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

For the past 15 minutes, Mellie had been pacing back and forth in Cyrus's office, rambling much louder than what was appropriate for the setting. For the past 10 minutes of this, Cyrus had a splitting headache.

"He asked me for a divorce, Cyrus. This time it's different. He is serious. It's..different. He didn't bring this up because he just got a bullet in the head; he's not drinking. He got another bite of Olivia and now he wants to be through with me."

"Mellie, be rational for second. This can't happen. It's not going to happen."

"This whole thing was a mistake. I thought the interview would make him get it together, but I drove him right into her arms. I did this. I destroyed the sham that is my marriage."

"Oh for God's sake Mellie, your marriage was destroyed long before you even got to the White House. Your little interview just pushed it over a cliff, into a dark abyss, that was covered in fire, and-"

"I get it Cyrus. Your point?" Mellie rolled her eyes, sitting in one of the chairs in front of Cyrus's desk. He came around and sat on the edge of his desk facing Mellie.

"My point is, Fitz is going to realize that this is not what he wants. He loves this presidency way to much to let an affair get in the way of all of the work that we have done here. Letting the American people down is not an option for him."

Mellie took a deep breath and looked at Cyrus. "Okay."

"So just sit tight and wait for this whole thing to blow over, because it will blow over. Alright?"

"Yes. I'm going to go now."

Cyrus walked Mellie to the door, armed with his best fake smile. He opened the door for her and closed it once she had gone. Massaging his temples to relieve the headache he muttered, "How did this become my life?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was late when Olivia got home. She was laying on her bed enjoying her usual nightly pass time. With a glass of wine, her laptop, and the low hum of the television, Olivia sat on her bed. The sound of the news reporter's voice had gone unnoticed until she heard a name that always made her ears perk up. Reaching for the remote she turned up the volume.

"_Meanwhile President Fitzgerald Grant has yet to issue another statement in regards to the issue of his infidelity. As you recall the statement that was released immediately after his actions came to light can barely be called a statement at best. The American people still have a lot of questions and as the leader of the free world, he should be able to provide answers."_

The ringing of the phone prevented her from hearing what else the poorly dressed man on her screen had to say. Without looking at the phone she knew who was calling her at this time of night. A smile instantly stretched across her lips as she reached for the receiver. "Isn't there some sort of national crisis you should be handling?"

Fitz chuckled as he leaned back in his chair and raised his feet up to prop them on his desk. "Hello to you too!"

"Hi."

"Hi."

Olivia and Fitz were both silent for a moment, enjoying listening to the other breathe. Fitz broke the silence, "I miss you."

Olivia looked at the pillow that Fitz had used the night before, "I miss you too."

"After last night I don't know that I'll be able to sleep without you with me."

The smile on Olivia's lips got even wider if that was possible. "Would it be weird if I told you that I now have a favorite pillow because this one smells like you?" As soon as the sentence left her mouth, a yawn followed.

"Are you tired?"

"No"

"Livvie, yes you are. Go to bed. Get some sleep. I'll talk to you later. Okay?"

After another yawn, Olivia answered. "Okay"

"I love you."

"I love you, too"

**I hope I was able to make this chapter as good as the first. I know it was a bit all over the place but I wanted to get a little bit more of the story line going before we get into the good stuff. *rubs hands together***

**Anyway. Review and let me know what you think. Suggestions are always welcome. I shall hopefully update sooner than I did this time. That is if I don't get distracted. Have a great day!**


	3. Begin Again

**Let's do this thing! I am not going to comment on the season finale because I don't quite know how to put my frustrations into words so I am just going to change the subject.**

**I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Don't forget to review because I really enjoy reading what you have to say. So without further ado, I give you chapter 3.**

Fitz walked to the residence a little faster than usual. He reached the living room and prepared to enter but was stopped by Mellie who was standing in the entrance way.

"Fitzgerald."

"Hello, Mellie"

"The children are here."

"I know. I had Lauren call the school and have them brought back home." He tried to walk past Mellie but she shifted to the side in order to block his way.

"What would possess you to do that?"

"They were alone at school and with everything that is happening and about to happen, they need to be with their family."

Mellie took a deep breath, glanced toward the living room, then back at Fitz. "Fitzgerald."

"No Mellie." He interrupted. "Now is not the time for whatever you have to say to me. Excuse me. I want to talk to my children."

With that Fitz walked past Mellie who did nothing to stop him. Instead she silently followed him to the sofa where Karen and Jerry sat with expressions that showed their less than excited moods. Fitz looked at them and stopped dead in his tracks. He walked closer to them after a bit of hesitation and sat on the coffee table facing them.

"Guys"

"Is it true, daddy?" Karen asked, tears threatened to spill out of her eyes at any moment.

"Kare."

"IS IT TRUE?!" her voice was raised but strained as she fought to keep her emotions in check.

Mellie had been standing in the back of the room until this point. She gave her daughter a look that told her to remember who she was speaking too. "Karen, despite what you are feeling right now, Fitz is still your father. You will speak to him as such."

With her eyes cast downward into her lap, Karen gave a weak nod. Silence filled the room before Fitz spoke again.

"Yes, it's true." He looked at Karen who was wiping away furiously at the steady stream of tears rolling down her face. He gaze shifted to his son who had remained silent. The look on his son's face was one he would never forget, a mixture of anger, hurt and most of all disappointment.

"How could you?" Jerry said, running an angry hand through his hair. Jerry looked at sister's face, red and tear stained and felt his blood beginning to boil. He had always been closer to his mother and the fact that his father had done this to her was not something that he could take lightly. Karen shook her head but said nothing.

Fitz looked at his children and saw the hurt on their faces. This was the part he had been dreading but he knew that he needed to be happy if he was going to be a better father. "I am so sorry. I never meant for this to hurt either of you or Teddy."

Karen finally spoke but barely above a whisper. Fitz was not sure at first that he had actually heard anything. "How could you do this to mom?"

Fitz reached a hand out to her knee and was shocked when she stood up to avoid his touch. Without a look back to anyone in the room, she went into her room leaving behind the sound of the slamming door. Jerry took a deep breath, stood up and went into his own room.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"Hi" Olivia made herself comfortable on her couch, moving some of the throw pillows that were causing her back pain. When Fitz didn't answer, she knew something was wrong. "Fitz"

"They hate me." The emotion was clear in his voice. This was one time when he wished he could still cover up his pain with an oversized serving of scotch.

Not understanding what Fitz was trying to tell her, Olivia asked, "Who hates you Fitz?"

His eyes were planted on a spot on the ceiling. He took a deep breath. "The kids. My children hate me. They know and they hate me." Tears started to fill his eyes but he was determined not to let them fall. "I had them brought back from school because I thought, we all needed to be together. I thought, if I talked to them they would understand why I did what I did. That I love you. That..That." Olivia could hear Fitz sniffle over the phone. "They can barely look at me. They haven't spoken to me since we talked when they first got here."

"Fitz. If you want-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Liv. I want you. I want to be with you. I want us. I just didn't expect..I don't know what I expected. Maybe I should have been better prepared for this moment, but it was easier to just live in a little bubble."

"But we live in the real world."

"Yeah." They were both silent for a while. Thinking.

"Give them time. They're hurt and confused. They just found out their parents are not who they thought they were. That's a lot to take in. Just give them a chance to process and eventually they will come around. It won't be quick but they love you. You're their father and they need you."

Fitz nodded even though he knew Olivia wouldn't be able to see it. "You're right. You're always right." Olivia smiled. "I should go. I've been sitting in this office for so long that my butt is numb."

Olivia chuckled. "Okay. I'll talk to you later."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Cyrus had waited long enough. If Fitz wasn't going to change his mind, then he was going to have to change it for him. Bright and early, Cyrus found himself preparing to enter the Oval office. HIs head held high. He was about to put and end to the week from hell.

"Sir."

Fitz looked up from some papers that he had been going over. "Good morning, Cyrus."

Under his breath, Cyrus muttered. "It will be."

"Excuse me. Is there something you would like to share?" Fitz got up from his chair and walked around to the front of his desk, sitting on the edge.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, there is." Cyrus came to a stand in front of Fitz and looked him in the eye. "You can't do this."

"Do what? I'm the president. I can do what I damn well please."

"Oh don't play dumb with me. I already spoke to Mellie a few days ago so spare me this little act. I know you're planning to divorce her. And I can only assume you are then going to move Olivia in. Make her the First Lady. I'm telling you, you can't."

Fitz turned to his head and gave a chuckle. "Cyrus." He said shaking his head. "This is my office. You work for me. I can do what I want and you can't stop me." He looked at Cyrus who seemed to be about to explode. "I am in love with a woman who is not my wife. An amazing woman. And I want to be with her. I want to have a family with her, grow old with her, create a home with her. So I am divorcing Mellie. You, my friend, need to get on board because I would like your support in doing it. But if that does not happen then so be it. But you will not come into my office and talk to me however you please." Fitz stood up and walked back around his desk. As he prepared to sit back down in his seat, he looked up at Cyrus who was still standing in front of him, processing. "You may go."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

When Cyrus got back in his office he was not pleased to see that he had a very unwelcome guest. "Mellie."

She turned around not even wasting the time to give him a proper greeting. "Did it work?"

"No."

"No? What do you mean, no? You said it would work. That he'd come to senses."

"This time his mind is made up."

"Don't be ridiculous. What are you going to do now?"

Cyrus walked to his desk and took a seat trying to ease some of his stress. "Nothing. If this is what he wants to do then he is going to do it. Even though I don't think its the best thing in the middle of an election, I would rather stay on his good side. So if supporting this bone-headed idea is what it takes, I am going to shut my mouth and deal with it."

Mellie looked at him like he had lost his mind. "Cyrus?"

"You might want to start packing." Cyrus gave Mellie a look that said that he was done with this discussion.

Shocked and confused, Mellie stood up and collected herself before walking out of Cyrus's office. She knew this was the end but she refused to believe it. She was not leaving without trying one more time.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Fitz was walking through the hall to his room to face yet another night of silence. He glanced at the doors that led to his children's bedrooms wishing that things were different between them all. As he was passing Karen's room he heard her call him.

"Daddy."

He thought it would be forever before she would ever speak to him again so this moment was a great one. He worked hard to contain his excitement when he turned around and her saw her blues eyes staring at him. "Can we talk?" She asked.

"Yeah. Sure Princess." Fitz walked into her room and sat on the end of the bed. "What's going on?"

"I thought about everything that's going on." She sat playing with her fingers a nervous habit she had possessed since she was young. "I'm still thinking about, really."

"Okay well tell me what's on your mind."

"I want you to understand where I'm coming from and how I feel." Fitz nodded signally her to continue. "After mom's interview, people have been treating us differently and they've been saying..things. Things about you, mom, us. And it hurts."

"Sweetheart." He started as Karen continued.

"I thought about how you and mom have been together and for as long as I can remember you haven't been happy. You're not like my friends parents and I know that. What I'm trying to say is I want you to be happy. You've been very unhappy lately and I want that to stop. I just want _you _back, daddy." Tears filled both of their eyes.

Fitz opened his arms. "Oh Princess. Come here." Karen crawled across the bed and settled against Fitz. They were both silent for a while enjoying each other's company.

"I'm sorry, daddy." Karen whispered.

Fitz looked down at her. Confusion written all over his face. "Why are you sorry?"

"For how I acted. How I've been acting. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too. I have been very selfish and that is going to change. I promise." He leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of her head. His eyes focused on the clock sitting on her desk. "Alright. It's late. You need to be in bed." They both sat up and Fitz tucked her into the bed. "Goodnight, sweetheart." Fitz placed a kissed on her forehead.

"Goodnight, daddy." Fitz turned out the light and walked out of the room.

**And chapter #3 is done. I hope you guys liked it. I really enjoyed writing it. Until next time peeps!**


	4. Hanging On

**Things are moving right along. I hope everyone is still liking the direction this is going. Here we go...**

"Your name still hasn't been leaked yet." Olivia turned around and saw Harrison standing in her doorway.

"I know."

"What are you going to do when it does?"

"I'll handle it."

"You'll handle it? Olivia if and when your name comes out there is not going to be an easy fix. You know that-"

"Harrison." Olivia voice took a tone that meant this needed to be the end of the conversation. Unfortunately for Harrison, he did not heed that warning.

"Let me help you. The White House isn't going to. They'll hang you out to dry. They always leave the mistress out to hang and dry."

"I can take care of myself."

"Liv-"

"Harrison. I can take care of myself. You have a job to do. So go work on this case." Harrison looked at Olivia for a moment. Finally giving up he turned around and walked out of her office. Olivia took a deep breath and turned her attention back to the papers on her desk.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

**2 Weeks Later**

Things had been considerably peaceful for Fitz. He and Karen were working on repairing the relationship that had been stained ever since his drinking began. While Jerry still wasn't having full length conversations with him, he wasn't completely ignoring him and didn't look at him with such hurt eyes. It was all progress. Mellie, surprisingly, had been easier to put up with as well. And it also helped that they weren't really speaking to one another.

Fitz faced another day in the Oval. With this new positive outlook, it didn't seem so bad. He greeted Lauren, walked through the door, and took his usual place behind his desk. It was quiet and calm and then..

"Hello Fitzgerald." Mellie walked into the Oval with a smile on her face.

"What can I do for you, Mellie?"

"Actually, this is about what I can do for you."

"Oh." Fitz was genuinely curious as to what Mellie could possible think she could do for him.

"Yes." Mellie walked toward Fitz's desk. "You're running for reelection and you need me to do it."

Wordlessly, Fitz reached into one of the drawers of his desk and pulled out a brown envelope. Before Mellie could any further into her speech, Fitz placed the envelope in front of her.

"Before you finish what I am sure is a very well thought out speech, you might want to open that."

Mellie picked up the envelope giving Fitz a confused look as she did so. She looked at the papers, then at Fitz, and back to the papers. When she didn't speak, Fitz took this as his chance to say what he had to say. "I was going to give you these tonight, but since you came in here I thought, 'why the hell not.'"

"When did...How did you?"

"A few days ago Tom brought my lawyer in here. We came up with a deal that I think is more than fair."

"And what exactly are you planning to do after this? What about your political future."

"I am glad you asked that question..I am going to run as a single man. I am going to win as a single man. Then in about 6 months time I am going to begin dating well-educated, powerful women. After a few months, a few dates, it will be leaked that I have become close to a former aid. That we realized that we have feelings for each other. That we fell in love. After a great courtship we are going to be married."

"What if I don't want to sign the papers?"

"That would be a very bad idea, Mellie, because all it takes is a whisper. One tiny whisper that you are a racist and your career will be over before it even begins. However, if you sign the papers and make this as easy as it should be, I will help you start the political career you crave."

Mellie looked at the papers in her hand. She was thinking. Fitz watched her carefully; he could the wheels turning. "Sign the papers Mellie. It's time. This charade has gone on for long enough and you deserve better. Our kids deserve better."

Not ready to make a decision and trying to buy time, Mellie finally lifted her eyes from the papers to meet Fitz's. "Let me have my lawyer look over them and then I will get them back to you."

Fitz nodded. "Thank you, Mellie."

Mellie shoved the papers back into the envelope and let the office closing the door softly behind her. Fitz let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Mellie sat and listened to her lawyer as he explained everything that was written out on the divorce papers. She was becoming more and more frustrated as the discussion continued.

"What it all boils down to Mrs. Grant, is that I think we can get you a better deal."

"He'll give me whatever I want. The deal is not the problem. The problem is..Fitz wants this done fast so let's just do it quickly and be done."

"With all due respect Mrs. Grant, you and the president at least need to discuss the terms of this divorce."

Mellie let out a breath and sat back in her seat. "Fine. Call him in here." Mellie waved a dismissive hand at her lawyer.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Fitz and Mellie were in the Oval Office facing each other, both with lawyers on either side of them. Fitz's lawyer, Gregory, cleared his throat, breaking the tension in the room.

"This is a solid deal and it is fair. I don't see any need for my client to change anything."

It was Benjamin's, Mellie's lawyer, turn to speak. "We are not talking about some quickie marriage. The president and Mrs. Grant have been married for over 20 years. She deserves more than what you are offering."

Fitz and Gregory glanced at one another and Fitz nodded, giving him permission to increase the offer on the table. "Fine. We'll thrown in another property. Her choice, anything but the ranch in Santa Barbara."

Mellie gave Fitz a looked as she took in a sharp breath. "Fitzgerald, do you think I'm stupid? We have been married for a long time and I know how much you are worth. You want me gone? Fine. But I will not let you throw a couple of dollars at me and tell me to move on with my life."

Fitz ran a hand down his face. "Okay. Mellie, what do you want? What will it take?"

"15 million. 3 properties."

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!"

"15 million. 3 properties. And I walk."

Fitz took a deep breath. "Fine, but I get full custody of the kids."

Mellie looked at Fitz as if he had grown two extra heads. "Fitz."

"Please, Mellie. You and I both know you'll just ship them off anyway. And Teddie won't even see you between all the nannies and nurses you have taking care of him. The kids stay with me and you can have what you want."

Mellie was quiet for a while. Thinking. Finally she looked at Fitz and nodded her head. "Fine."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Fitz found himself pacing around his office, a habit he had picked up from Olivia. He had called her and insisted she come to the White House at this very moment because he had something to tell her that couldn't be said over the phone. After what felt like an eternity he heard the door open and knew instantly who was there.

"Fitz, what was so important that I had to come down here, _right now_?" she mocked the tone he had used on the phone.

"She signed them." Fitz had the stupidest of grins plastered on his face.

"Who is she and what did she sign?" Olivia sat her purse down on one of the sofas.

"Oh my God, Olivia. Mellie! She signed the divorce papers." Olivia's eyes which were already wide, enlarged to the size of saucers.

"You're not joking?"

"No. I wouldn't joke about this."

Olivia let out an excited laugh as she walked towards Fitz. "She signed the papers." She repeated.

"Yep. Now we just wait for them to be finalized and then I will be a free man." Fitz's hands came to rest on her hips as she closed the remaining distance between them.

"How are the kids?" she asked worriedly.

"Teddy is obviously too young to understand any of this. Karen is..okay. Were getting better and I think she understands that this won't make me love her any less. Jerry is still a little angry but I think he is trying to be ok. We're on speaking terms again which is good but I think he is still trying to process all the changes that are occurring so quickly."

"What happens next?"

"Well." FItz took a deep breath. "When the divorce is finalized, Mellie and I will do an interview. Part of the settlement was that I got full custody of the kids so they are going to stay here and Mellie is going to move out. After that, I work on repairing my relationship with my children, getting re-elected, and being your very loving partner."

Olivia smiled up at Fitz. "Hmmm. I like the sound of that."

"I thought you might." Fitz placed what was supposed to be a quick kiss on her lips. It was, however, anything but quick. When they separated, Olivia ran her fingers through the hair at the base of Fitz's neck. "So this isn't the only reason I called you here."

"Fitz."

"No. No It's nothing bad. I just need you to sit, right over here." Fitz guided Olivia to one of the couches in the room. He turned and walked through one of the doorways off the Oval. When he returned he was pushing a cart.

"What's this?" Olivia walked over to Fitz and the cart, looking at everything on it.

"This is me being a loving partner. I know you probably haven't eaten lunch yet and I want to keep you here for as long as possible, so we are going to sit down on this couch and we are going to enjoy this wonderful meal. Courtesy of the White House chef."

Olivia giggled. "Okay. So what are we having, Mr. President?"

An hour and a half later Olivia and Fitz sat cuddled against one another. Olivia glanced down at her watch. "I have to go."

"You don't _have _to go."

"Fitz, don't be funny. I have a job to do and more importantly you have a job to do."

"Okay. You're right. I'll go run the country or something. I guess." They both stood up. Olivia smiled at him and kissed him quickly.

"Thank you for lunch. It was wonderful." She picked up her bag and made her way to the door, looking back at him once before walking out of the Oval.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Olivia turned the corner at the same moment as Cyrus. "Hello, Cyrus."

"You're being messy."

"What?"

"You're being messy, sloppy, not covering your tracks. I don't care what you call it, but it needs to be fixed."

"Cyrus, I would suggest-"

"You can't come here and spend two hours in his office and it not raise a few eyebrows. Now is not the time to come to the White House under the guise of working to play tonsil hockey with your boyfriend." When Olivia was silent he continued. "Look, this isn't about me trying to keep you two apart. I know that's not going to work so I'm on his side with this." Olivia looked at him from the corners of her eyes. "Oh, don't give me that look..The point is, if this is going to work I need you two to be careful. You not coming here at all is not realistic, but I need you and Fitz to think about the risks before you decide to have a date night on the resolute desk."

"Okay, Cyrus. I get it." Olivia stopped walking to make eye contact with him.

"Good." Cyrus turned and walked toward his office, greeting his secretary on the way in the door.

**And that my friends is chapter 4. Hopefully chapter 5 will be up by Sunday. That is unless something comes up. Okie Dokie! See ya later**


	5. Camisado

**What is up guys?! As promised here is chapter 5. Before you read it, I just want to say I don't know how accurate this actually is. (It just kind of came to me out of the blue and I thought it sounded ok) I'm not sure if something like this could actually happen but this is fiction! Right?!**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy. **

"Good morning, Mrs. Grant."

"Good morning, Catherine." Mellie smiled at her assistant as she walked past her. Just before she reached the door to her office, she turned around and looked at her. "Can you come in my office for a second?"

"Yes, ma'am. Of course." Catherine picked a pen and the notepad sitting on her desk and followed Mellie into her office. Mellie sat down in the chair behind her desk and motioned for Catherine to sit one of the chairs in front of her.

"Okay. What I'm about to ask you do needs to be taken care of as discreetly as possible." Catherine nodded. "Great." Mellie folded her hands on top of her desk. "I need you to call BNC and let them know that I will be sending them a video that I want aired tonight, during primetime. Make sure they know that they are not, under any circumstances, to announce that the video is coming before it is aired." When Catherine finished writing on her notepad, Mellie continued. "Make the call and we'll take it from there."

Catherine stood up. "Yes, ma'am." She walked out of the door and back to her desk and prepared to make the phone call to BNC. Mellie opened one of the drawers to her desk and took a video camera and sat it on top of her desk.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Fitz was sitting at his desk, thinking about nothing in particular when someone knocked on the door. "Come in." When the door opened he was surprised to see Jerry on the other side of it. A smile spread across Fitz's face. "Hey, Bud. What's going on?"

"I was hoping we could take." Jerry walked closer to where Fitz sat.

"Yeah." Fitz stood up and made his way to the center of the room. He motioned for Jerry to sit on the sofa as he did the same. "Yeah. Of course we can talk." It didn't surprise him when Jerry chose to sit on the couch opposite of him instead of beside him. "What's on your mind?"

Jerry took a deep breath and sat his hands in his lap. "I don't want to be mad at you anymore." Fitz was about to speak but stopped when Jerry continued. "I want to say that I forgive you, that I can forget what you did to mom, to us. I'm trying. I am and I know that is no excuse for how I've been acting and I feel horrible about it. You're still my dad and I haven't been treating you that way." Jerry looked up from his lap to his father's eyes. "I don't want to walk around trying to avoid having to speak to you." Jerry ran a hand through his hair. "What I'm trying to say is..being mad at you isn't worth not being able to talk to you or hang out with you. I am not ready to say that I am completely over everything..but I want things..us..back to how we used to be."

Fitz walked over to the couch that Jerry had been sitting and sat down beside him. "Come here, Jer." Fitz hugged him then patted him on the back. "I don't expect you to forgive me overnight and that's okay. This is hard. What I did was wrong and I'm sorry I hurt you and your brother and sister. I'll apologize everyday if I have to." Jerry nodded. Fitz took a deep breath contemplating whether or not this was a good time to say was he about to say. "I was going to wait until tonight to tell you this but it might change how you feel so I'm just going to say it now." Jerry looked at him expectantly. "Your mother and I are getting divorced." When he was silent, Fitz continued. "It's not fair to you, or Karen, or Teddy to have to live in a home where everyone is unhappy. As an adult, as your parent, I have to do what's best for us. I know you know your mom and I haven't been happy in a very, very long time. And-"

"It's okay." Jerry interrupted. "I understand. I want things to get better and if this is what it takes for things to get there, then I can't be upset about that." They were both silent for a moment, thinking. "What happens to us?"

"Well, I would like you guys to stay here, with me. You wouldn't have to go back to boarding school and I've missed you guys like crazy..That is if you want to stay here." Fitz looked at Jerry waiting for his response.

"I would like that." He said with a nod. "And I think Karen would too."

"Good." Fitz smiled at his son. "I do have to ask you for a favor though."

"Sure."

"Don't tell your sister what we talked about. I would like for her to hear about the divorce from me."

"Don't worry. I won't say anything."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Catherine walked back into Mellie's office carrying the same pen and notepad. "I did what you asked ma'am."

"Perfect. Come here for a moment." Catherine walked toward the chair she had occupied earlier and took a seat. "I need you to record something for me and then I need you to take the tape to BNC. Can you do that?" She received a nod. "Here. It's ready to go so just hit record."

Catherine backed up from the desk in order to get a good shot of Mellie who sat up a little bit straighter behind her desk. "I'm ready when you are, ma'am." She received a nod, the signal to press the record button.

Mellie smiled before she began, "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I know this video comes as a surprise so I will be concise. As you already know, my husband and I have been having issues and those have escalated after he began sleeping with someone outside of our marriage. After taking into account the well-being of children, we have decided that it would be best for us to end our marriage after over 20 years. That, however, is not why I am appearing before you. I am here because I want to share with you what my husband, the president of these United States, is planning to do once our divorce is final. The woman my husband has been sleeping with is a former member of this administration. He has created a plan that includes setting up fake dates for the press in order to direct attention away from his actual goal. Fitzgerald Grant is planning to move his mistress into the White House and marry her. I have one final piece of information for you. His mistress is none other than former Communications Director, Olivia Pope. Thank you and I hope you have a wonderful night." Mellie wiped her hands on her desk.

With eyes the size of saucers, Catherine ended the recording and stood rooted in her spot, silent. She looked at the camera in her hand, then to Mellie, and back at the camera. "Mrs. Grant."

Mellie walked up to her and took the camera from her hands and began to remove the memory card. She handed it to her assistant. "You are to take this straight to BNC. Again make sure they know not to speak about it until it has aired." She looked at Catherine's face and noticed the shocked expression she wore. "Fix your face Catherine. You'll ruin this thing before it begins." Catherine returned her face to normal, took the memory card and made her way out of the door.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Fitz had lunch in the residence with his children and told Karen and Teddy who had no idea what any of the conversation meant, that he and Mellie were ending their marriage. It had been a long, but good, discussion. The length of the discussion was the reason why he was sitting behind his desk at almost 8 o'clock at night, instead of having dinner with them now. He still had quite a bit of work to do before he could call it a night. Shortly after the clock on his desk hit 8, Cyrus busted into his office out of breath.

"TURN IT ON." Cyrus pointed a tired hand at the television in the corner of the room following a morning meeting. Fitz walked over to it, confused and pressed the power button. When the television came on he saw Mellie's face. "TURN THE DAMN THING UP." Fitz mashed the volume button as quickly as he could. The only thing he heard was Olivia's name.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"Abby, that won't work. We have to get creative here." Abby, Harrison, and Olivia stood around the wooden table in the middle of OPA debating about what needed to happen next in their case.

"What if he's lying?" Abby offered.

"No. I don't think so. Besides everything checked out remember?" Olivia looked at Abby.

Huck walked into the room with his hands in his pockets. He began speaking but his voice was being ignored as the three continued shooting ideas back and forth.

"There is no proof that he did it. This should be cut and dry."

_Turn on the TV._

"It should be, but its not."

_You're on the TV._

"Have we talked to everybody we could think of?"

_Right Now_

"Of course we have, Liv. Twice. And we still are in the same place we were three days ago."

When he was still being ignored, he took a breath and yelled to get their attention. "TURN ON THE TV." Everyone turned to look at him. "Olivia, there's something you'll want to see." She looked at him for a second before walking over to the television. She turned it on then backed up so that she could get a better view. She listened as Mellie told all of America the plan that she had been up for days creating, as she named her as the mistress of the President of the United States. Just before the video, which was now playing on loop restarted, Olivia made a b-line for her office closing the door behind her. She grabbed her phone and dialed the number she rarely used.

"What the hell did she do?"

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Fitz was trying to block out everything but Olivia, who was on the phone waiting for him to answer. "I don't know. I didn't even know she did this. I thought everything was good. I thought we were being amiable about this."

"You thought Mellie was going to be amiable. Millicent Grant?" In the background she could hear Cyrus rambling on about everything and nothing at the same time. It was mostly a string of profanities that would have made her giggle any other time.

"I was wrong. She can take my money, that's fine. But this, this hurts everyone."

"Fitz, you need to do an interview. So far she's been the only one on the air. The public only has her side, so they need to hear from you now. You have to assure them that no matter the state of your love life, you can still run the country."

"Okay." Fitz nodded even though he knew she couldn't see it. He glanced at Cyrus he was staring at him in a way that frightened him. "I..um.I have to go but I will call you back."

"Okay." The minute the phone hit the receiver, Cyrus was yelling at Fitz.

"HOW THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN, FITZ?"

"Cy."

"SHUT...WHY..and you better have a damn good reason..WHY DID YOU TELL HER THE PLAN? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" Cyrus's face red and he had begun to sweat.

"I made a mistake. I thought that if she knew that this wasn't a game she would sign the papers. It worked." He heard Cyrus scoff. "But I had no idea she was going to tell the world."

Cyrus shook his head then ran a hand down his face. "I've thought of you as a lot of things Fitzgerald, but I never, and I mean never, thought of you as stupid. I'm on your side. I am. I said I would support whatever decision you made no matter how bone headed but you have to at least think things through."

"Ok, Cyrus." Fitz let out a tired sigh. "I can fix this. So just calm down. You'll have another heart attack."

"And it will be all your fault." Cyrus turned around walked out the door, letting it fall closed behind him.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Cyrus turned the corner and Catherine sitting at her desk, sorting papers. "Is she in there?"

"Yes, sir. She is, but-" Before she could finish her sentence, Cyrus was halfway through the door to Mellie's office.

"Cyrus. I was expecting to see you sooner." Mellie looked up from her desk.

"Mellie, I am trying so hard not to grab you by the neck right now so I suggest you cut the crap..What were you thinking?"

"Fitz wants a divorce. Fine. He wants to take my kids. I'm not happy about it but let's be honest, I don't exactly radiate motherly love. So I can deal with. But I will not let him bring his whore in here to take my place."

Cyrus looked at her as if she had sprouted three extra heads. "Do you realize how bad everyone looks now? How bad YOU look? You all are such children. Your career is over..before it even began." Mellie took a deep breath. "Keep this up..You'll be all alone before you even realize it. Is that what you want Mellie?"

**Just in case you were wondering a camisado is a surprise attack at night!**

**This could have been uploaded A LOT earlier but I kept getting distracted by Tumblr lol. It's my weakness. I hope you enjoyed and I am hoping to have an update for you by Tuesday (hopefully earlier in the day too!). I 3 you guys!**


	6. More Things To Say

**I am so sorry this took so long. Something came up and then when I finally got time to write I couldn't decide how I wanted this chapter to go. But I finally was able to sit and write it so I hope you guys enjoy it. **

"Are they still out there?" Olivia turned her attention away from the television.

"You already know the answer to that." Harrison walked into Olivia's office and stood beside her.

"I know what you're going to say."

"That you're off your game? That the Olivia I know wouldn't be sitting in here. She'd be out there," Harrison pointed to the door as he turned to face Olivia, "doing something, anything. You're a fixer. You can fix this. You want to be with the president? Fine. Then you need to make them love you."

Olivia and Harrison looked at each other, silent, until Quinn walked into the room. "Liv, there's someone here to see you."

Olivia walked out of her office with Harrison following behind her. She looked at the man standing at the end of table, everyone else was standing around the room observing him. "Tom?! How did you get in here?"

"Dressed in plain clothes I can sneak in just about anywhere." Tom gestured to his body. "And I snuck in the back, through the parking garage."

Olivia nodded. "He sent you?"

"Yes, ma'am. There's a car waiting, I'm supposed to escort you-" He looked at everyone in the room as he stopped mid-sentence.

"And just how do you expect us to make it past all the press that's out there? Thanks to him." Olivia folded her arms.

"As you know, I am very good at my job..I can get us out of here."

"What if I say no?"

"Then I have permission to carry you out of here."

Olivia looked around at everyone in the office. "Fine. But if this doesn't work I'm killing you and him."

Tom smiled. "Of course, Ms. Pope. I wouldn't expect anything less."

Olivia looked at her associates, "You guys don't have to stay here. Like I said earlier, you guys can go home. You're not the center of a national scandal." They all looked at her but no one moved.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Olivia walked into the Oval just as Cyrus was finishing up giving Fitz another tongue lashing. Fitz looked up and saw Olivia walking through the door and smiled but the smile quickly faded when he saw the look on her face.

"Where are we?" Olivia chose to skip the greetings and get straight to business. She dropped her purse and jacket as she crossed the room.

"Nowhere. We're nowhere because there is nothing that we can do. It's ruined. It's all over." Cyrus looked at Fitz the entire time he was speaking.

"Cyrus can I have a moment to talk to Olivia please?" Fitz looked at Cyrus.

"Oh yeah. Sure. Better make the most of the time we have left here. You two, talk all you want." Cyrus walked towards the door. Fitz watched as he left then turned back to Olivia when the door closed. "Liv, I'm sorry."

"What were you thinking?!"

"I-"

"When has it ever, EVER been a good idea to tell Mellie anything? Let alone this."

"I was trying to scare her into signing the papers."

"I understand that Fitz, I do, but you cannot tell Mellie something like this and not expect her to run with it. You and I both know she doesn't think about things before she does them."

"How was I supposed to know she was going to tell all of America about you and I?"

"You were _supposed _to think about all the possible outcomes. We are about to do something that has never been done. We have to be careful. You-" Olivia stopped talking when Cyrus opened the door, sticking his head in. "You can come back Cyrus."

He looked between them sensing the tension. "Is everything okay?"

"Yep" Olivia answered a little too quickly, then turned her head away from Fitz. "Why isn't this on?" Olivia pointed at the television.

Cyrus answered. "Flyboy turned it off." He walked over to it and hit the power button with more force than was necessary. Soon the room was full of noise. Cyrus flipped through the channels until he found a news program with a panel of five men dressed in cheap suits having a discussion about the newly released information.

"_We have to remember that this isn't the first time that the president's fidelity has been brought into question. Remember Billy Chambers? The Amanda Tanner scandal happened fairly early into his presidency. Is this one really that hard to believe?" All the men nodded. _

"_I just think we need a leader who can keep his fly zipped. If he were less worried about sleeping with the next pretty girl to walk by, how much better off could the country be right now?"_

"_What if, and I'm just playing devil's advocate here, she's lying." All the men at the table turned to look at him. "I mean there were allegations of her having an affair before the president was elected. And we all know the couple is less than loving."_

_One of the men chuckled. "My ex-wife did some crazy stuff when we were getting divorced but that is a stretch to say the least."_

"_All I'm saying is I've met a few women like her before and they will stop at nothing to get what they want."_

"_Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." All the men chuckled._

"_Okay. Can we get serious here?"_

"Change the channel, Cy." Cyrus hit the button until he found another news program discussing the affair.

_An older woman was on the screen talking to a much woman via satellite._

"_Let's talk about Olivia Pope. She worked on President Grant's campaign, then in the White House as the Communications Director, and now is the founder of a very successful Crisis Management Firm."_

"_I can't help but wonder," the woman's southern accent was thick, "how much of her success is because of President Grant."_

"_We don't know how long the affair went on so can we really ask that question?"_

"_Yes, we can. He is the most powerful man in the world. You're telling me that she didn't benefit from that power even a little bit." The woman shook her head. "I'm not buying it."_

This time it was Fitz who told Cyrus to change the channel, which he did. "Stop." On the screen were pictures of Fitz and Olivia compared side by side to pictures of Fitz and Mellie. "Next."

"_Well, I'm going to say what everyone wants to say but is too afraid to. She's a home wrecker. This man is married, he was children. And they had a relationship for what I am assuming was quite some time. Now they are getting divorced-"_

"Turn it off." Fitz stood up. "We're fixing this. I'll do an interview, a press conference, anything."

Olivia and Cyrus looked at each other. Olivia took a deep breath. "Okay."

Cyrus cleared his throat. "I will be right back. I have something that I need to take care of."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Box in hand, Cyrus turned the corner and stopped in front of Catherine's desk.

"Mr. Beene."

Cyrus said nothing but sat the box down on the floor as he stood in front of her desk. Without looking at her, he began to pick up the items on her desk and dropping them into the box that sat by his feet.

"What are you doing?"

"Hmm.." Cyrus dismissively shook his head. "I'm helping you." Cyrus moved to the other side of the desk to grabbed the things that were on that side.

"Helping me?"

"Yes..I thought I would save you some time." Cyrus grabbed the ink pen that she had been using to write, out of her hand and dropped it into the box as well. He wiped his hands on his pants and looked at Catherine. "You're fired."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

When Cyrus walked back into the Oval, he found Olivia and Fitz sitting across from each other in the middle of the room.

"Well?" he asked as he closed the door.

"He's doing an interview, tonight. It's less formal than a press conference and we don't have to worry about the press bombarding him with questions."

"Okay." Cyrus nodded. "Then let's get prepared."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"Hey guys? Come out here for a second." Fitz sat down at the table in the residence. He had prepared himself for this moment, but now that he was about to do it, the full weight of what he was going to tell his children hit him.

"Yeah, daddy?" Karen sat down beside him followed by Jerry.

"I want to tell you guys something." Karen and Jerry looked at each other and then back to their father. They both nodded and he continued. "I know we haven't been allowing you to watch the news since you've been here so you more than likely don't know this. So, I'm just going to say it." He took a deep breath. "The woman that I had an affair with is Olivia Pope."

They were both quite. After a while Karen spoke. "Livvie?" Both children but especially Karen, loved Olivia on the campaign trail. Anytime that they were with their parents on the trail, they would follow Olivia around and do whatever she was doing.

"It was never my plan to fall in love with her. I tried so hard to not feel what I feel for her. I wanted to be a better man, a better father. I still do and I'm trying to get there. I'm working on becoming someone you can both look up to."

"That's the thing Dad," Jerry started, "we did look up to you. Even though you and Mom weren't always happy I thought you cared enough to not cheat on her. I feel like I don't even know who you are."

"I made a mistake and I know that, but I'm the same person I was before. I'm still your Dad."

They were all quiet. All three were thinking of what to say next.

"You love her. Does that mean you're going to marry her?" Karen looked at her father waiting for his answer.

"Well." Fitz chose his words carefully. "At some point a while from now, I hope to. But I want you guys to be completely, 100% okay with it before I even think about that. I'm not going to just run off and get married and not consider feelings. You both have to know that even if Olivia and I do get married, I will still love you. We're a team, the three of us."

"Does she love you too?"

"Yeah, sweetie." Fitz smiled. "She does."

Jerry stood up. "I have to go do..stuff." With that he was out of the door.

**Next chapter is the interview. Again I am really, really, really sorry it took so long for me to update. Until next time...0**


	7. Live

Everyone walked into Olivia's living room as she handed out wine glasses. Once everyone's glass was filled, they moved the chairs and sat in front of the television in silence waiting for the interview that could make or break everything.

"How are you feeling?" Quinn asked.

"Like I'm about to vomit." Olivia raised her glass to her lips and took a large swallow. She picked up one of the bottles of wine and refilled her glass, drinking from it again.

"She's gonna watch the interview half lit?" Abby whispered to Harrison who gave her a look that told her it was better to just close her mouth. They were all silent again waiting.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"Did Olivia get back okay?" Cyrus asked as he walked towards Fitz.

"Yep. Tom made sure she got back to her apartment. No one saw them."

Cyrus nodded. "You can do this. She prepared you for every possible situation and she believes in you. I believe in you. It's okay to be nervous but you can handle this."

Fitz looked at him. "I'm not nervous."

"There." Cyrus pointed at his leg. "It's been bouncing the whole time I've been in here."

He was interrupted by a young lady, probably an intern, who walked in to get Fitz. "We're ready for you sir."

Fitz and Cyrus looked at each other briefly before both turning towards the door and making their way to the Oval. Fitz's hand was on the door knob preparing to turn it when he heard Cyrus speak behind him. "You can do this." Fitz nodded as he opened the door.

Kimberly Mitchell looked up from her notes when she heard the door opening and smiled at the men as they entered the room. "Good evening Mr. President. Mr. Beene."

"Kimberly." Fitz reached out to shake her hand and Cyrus gave her a nod. "I assume you know why we are doing this."

"Yes, sir." She nodded. "We have about four minutes so if you are ready?" She gestured to the seat behind her.

They both sat down and waited for the broadcast to go live. Fitz was sure everyone in the room could hear his heart beating in his chest. He was beginning to regret not asking Liv to stay during the interview as it got closer to time.

"Alright." He heard someone say. "We are live in 5..4..3..2"

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I am here with President Grant." She turned towards Fitz. "Mr. President, I understand you want to set the record straight in regards to accusations of infidelity on your part."

"Yes. That is correct."

"Well, let's get right to it..You're wife has essentially been airing all of your dirty laundry in front of the world." Fitz nodded. "Is there are any truth to what she has been accusing you of?"

"Yes there is."

"What is true?"

Fitz took a deep breath. "I've been in a relationship with Olivia Pope."

"Okay. And what is untrue?"

"My wife has been insinuating that our marriage is ending because of Olivia. That is not true. Our marriage has been over long before Olivia came into the picture."

"If your marriage was over why didn't you get divorced?"

"A part of me was scared, I suppose. Mellie and I have been married for over twenty years. Ending anything after 20 years is a big adjustment and I wasn't strong enough to do what needed to be done."

"What changed between then and now? Why aren't you afraid now?"

"Olivia." Fitz answered simply. "There's something that you and all of America need to understand. What she and I have, is not just me trying to relieve some itch. It's not about her trying to get in bed with the President. She is a very important part of my life. Liv has made me a better man, a stronger man. And now I am strong enough to do what I needed to do years ago. So to your answer your question, Olivia is what changed between then and now."

Kimberly nodded trying to take in everything she had just heard. "How does she feel about everything that is happening?"

"Naturally, she's nervous. This is going to be a big change for everyone involved. A president has never gotten divorced while in office. That alone is a big deal."

"After you get divorced, are you going to pursue a relationship with Ms. Pope?"

"Yes. I would like to, if she will have me." Fitz smiled.

"How do you think the American people are going to accept all of this? No president has gotten divorced while in office, let alone started a relationship with someone else."

"I hope the American people will accept that just like many other people in the world my marriage is ending. I want Mellie to be happy. In order to lead this nation to the best of my abilities, I need to be happy as well. Our marriage is not perfect. At this point it is doing more harm than good and I'm not willing to continue to hurt everyone involved."

"What about your children?"

"My children are just like any other children learning that their parents are getting divorced. Their sad, but I think they understand that this is for the best. Mellie and I being together and despising each other is not setting a good example and it is putting stress on them."

"I'm going to ask one question is that in the back of many people's minds." Fitz nodded. "With everything that is going on in your private life, are you going to be able to focus on the country and leading it?"

"Right now my personal life is a bit complicated and I have a lot going on, but the moment I step into this office, my focus is this nation. I was elected to make this country a better place and there is nothing that would make me any less determined to make that happen. I am committed 100% to this country and its people no matter what. The fact that I am getting a divorce does not and will not change that."

After a few more questions the interview was over and Fitz was thanking Kimberly for coming. Fitz found Cyrus waiting for him just behind the camera crew who were busy packing up their things. "So?" Fitz asked as he came to stand beside him.

"Good." He nodded. "It was good."

"Good." They were both quiet for a moment. "I'm going to wait for these guys to leave and then I'm going to call it a night."

Cyrus nodded. "Okay. Good night Mr. President." With that Cyrus made his way to the door and left.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Olivia picked up the remote from the coffee table preparing to press the rewind button. Before she could hit the button Quinn spoke. "No Olivia, please."

"This will be the fourth time you watched it. He did fine. Relax." Abby took the remote out of her hand and put it back where it was.

Olivia took a deep breath. "I know. I just-" She was interrupted by the phone ringing. "I'll be back." Olivia grabbed the phone and headed for her room closing the door behind her. "Hello."

"Hi." Fitz smiled into the phone.

"Hi." Olivia breathed.

"What did you think?"

"I thought you did good. You did great." They were quite for minute just listening to the other breathe.

"They know."

"What?"

"The kids know about you. I wanted to tell them before they found out somewhere else. That seems to be happening a lot."

"How did they feel?"

"I don't know. They kind of..ran off."

"Fitz..If-"

"Stop." He interrupted. "Don't make this a reason to run away from me. From us."

"I'm not. I promise."

He nodded even though he knew she wouldn't see it. "What are you doing?"

"Well..Abby, Huck, Harrison, and Quinn are here. They watched the interview with me but they took the remote from me when I kept rewatching it so."

Fitz chuckled. "How many times?"

"Only three." She laughed.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Karen knocked on the door to Jerry's room even though it was cracked open slightly. "Yep" he answered. She pushed the door open and walked in, sitting on his bed.

"You're being unreasonable."

"What?!"

"You're being unreasonable and disrespectful, and you're making this way more difficult than it has to be."

"Can we not do this?" He turned so that he was facing her completely.

"Jerry, Dad made a mistake. I know that. But you don't have to punish him for it."

"I'm not punishing him."

"Yes, you are. You've barely spoken to him, you look at him like you hate him, and you're making this house unbearable for all of us."

"What am I supposed to do? Pretend like he didn't cheat on mom. Act like he isn't about to start some new life with Olivia."

"No, but what if she makes him happy?" When he didn't say anything she started talking again. "Look, Dad hasn't been happy in a really long time. None of us have. I'm tired of being miserable because Mom and Dad can't get along. We're not going back to boarding school so you can't run away from all of this. So just suck it up and deal with it." Karen stood up and walked out, leaving Jerry to think alone.

**Alrighty my loves! Until next time...**


	8. What's For Dinner?

_**I want to apologize for this being so late. I started back in school so between moving into my apartment, getting back into the swing of things, tests, quizzes, and a paper I have a very busy girl. Anyway...I hope you like this chapter. Here you go...**_

"_Let's talk about this interview. The president revealed that he did in fact have a relationship with Ms. Pope and that once his divorce is final he wants to pursue a relationship with her again. Nothing like this has ever happened before."_

CLICK

"_I think maybe it is better for both President Grant and the First Lady if their marriage did come to an end. And God knows what those children must have been going through for the past few years."_

CLICK

"_What's he going to do? Move his mistress into the White House? Really?"_

CLICK

"_I think he might really love her. When he talked about Olivia his face lit up, his posture changed and he just seemed different."_

CLICK

"_An important question to ask here is how the Republican Party is going to react. I mean, we all know they are not exactly known for their race relations."_

"Good morning, Cyrus" Fitz turned the corner as he fixed his tie. Cyrus stood waiting for him so that he could be briefed on the reactions to his interview. "Well?"

"Overall, it went well, sir. There are a few extremists who are not happy and are calling for you head on a stick and there are a couple of women's groups who are behind the First Lady 110% but your approval ratings did not drop too significantly."

"Good." Fitz smiled as they continued to walk towards the Oval.

"We dodged a bullet here, sir. This could have gone horribly wrong and we all would've been out of a job."

"I know that Cyrus, but it didn't. Everything is fine and we still have a job to do so let's do it."

"Yes, sir. I'll be in my office if you need me." Cyrus and Fitz went in opposite directions.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"Liv." Abby called as she walked towards the door to her office.

Olivia looked up from her computer to see the rather large bouquet of flowers blocking Abby's face. "What are-"

"You're hunky president boyfriend sent you flowers." Abby lowered them from her face. "Here."

"Abby!" Olivia took the vase filled with flowers from her. "Thank You." She set the vase down on her desk and started pushing back the blossoms looking for the card in them. Taking it off of the plastic holder, Olivia opened the card and smiled as she read it.

_Thank you for loving me, and believing in me, and helping me see the best in myself_

_I love you_

_-F. Grant_

Olivia walked around her desk, picked up her phone and dialed the familiar number. After two rings Fitz picked up the phone. "Hi."

"Hi. I got the flowers. They're beautiful."

"Good. I'm glad you like them."

"How did you manage to get them sent here without all of America knowing."

"I'm the president. I can do anything."

"Mmhmmm. The real answer?"

Fitz chuckled. "I might have had a little help from Lauren."

"Now that I believe..Either way they're beautiful and I love them and I love you."

"I love you too. I have to go. I have a meeting that I need to get to. Call you later?"

"Of course, Mr. President."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

**1 Month Later**

Gradually the paparazzi presence outside of the Pope residence and Olivia Pope & Associates decreased to a couple of photographers and the news reporters moved on to more important national crisis. Mellie had moved out of the Blair house and went back to California where she was going to eventually launch her own political career.

"You having dinner there?" Abby asked Olivia and she followed behind her through the doorway.

"Yes."

"Are you sure-"

"Abby" Olivia interrupted her, ready to end this conversation. "I'm am having dinner at the White House with Fitz and his children. You wouldn't even know this if you hadn't been standing in my doorway when I was on the phone. That being said, I don't care how it looks, what people say, or how anyone including you feels about it. I am doing this because I want to. His divorce is almost final and the press knows that we are in a relationship so your issue with this in none of my concern." Olivia turned and walked the rest of the way to her office leaving Abby behind.

After a long day at the office tying loose ends Olivia was waiting for Tom to come and escort her to the White House.

"Hey Tom." Quinn greeted him as his walked in. Over the course of the month everyone in the office had become familiar with him.

"Hello Quinn." He looked at Olivia. "Are you ready, Ms. Pope?"

"Yes." She stood up, grabbed her things and followed Tom out of the door and to the black SVU that was waiting for them.

After a relatively short drive, they pulled up to the White House without being seen. "He's waiting for you inside ma'am"

"Thanks Tom."

Before she could open her door, she saw Fitz walking out to greet her. "You couldn't even wait until I got inside." She said with a smile.

"Nope." He smiled back at her. "It's been a month since I've seen you and while our phone conversions are great, I've missed seeing you." He closed the car door after she stepped out.

She stood in front of him. "Hi."

"Hi." He grabbed her hand and pulled you inside of the White House. The minute the door closed completely his lips were on hers.

"Well, hello to you too."

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that." He ran his hands down the side of her body. "God, I've missed you."

"I've missed you too." They turned and started walking towards the residence.

"Here we are. I'm going to go get the kids." He kissed her quickly. She watched as he disappeared down the hallway. When he was gone, Olivia took the opportunity to look around the room. She walked around looking at all the photographs, of the kids and Fitz through the years. Soon she heard a small voice that she knew belonged to Teddy. Though she couldn't make out what he was saying, since he still wasn't an expert at forming words, she could tell that he was excited about something.

"Can you say hi?" She barely heard Fitz as he whispered to Teddy who was in his arms.

"Hi." He said shyly as he waved his hand back and forth before placing his thumb in his mouth.

"Hi." She answered with a smile. Fitz was about to speak but stopped when he heard Karen and Jerry coming around the corner. Karen appeared first followed Jerry both with faces that were void of any readable expression.

"Hey Liv." Karen greeted Olivia with a small smile that Olivia returned.

"Hey Liv." Jerry greeted her as well.

To say dinner was awkward would be an understatement. The dinning room was usually silent during dinner anyway but this was a much different type of silence. The only sounds to be heard were the clinking of forks and spoons and the occasional words from Teddy.

After taking a drink of water, Karen looked up at Olivia. "So, Liv, what are your intentions with my father?"

Fitz tried to gather himself as he chocked on the food he had been eating. "Karen!"

"Wha-" She started but stopped when Olivia looked over at Fitz whose eyes were millimeters away from falling out of their sockets.

"It's okay, Fitz." She looked at him and then at Karen. "Umm..You sure know how to break an awkward silence don't you Karen?" She received a nod from the young girl.

"Would it help if I changed the question?"

"Yes." Fitz answered a little too eagerly. This was not a conversation he was prepared to have with his children tonight when his relationship with Olivia was still new to everyone.

"Okay. Liv, do you love my dad?" She asked.

"Yes, I do." Olivia looked at Fitz and smiled. "Very much."

The rest of the dinner was still very quiet but the tension and awkwardness had been reduced. After everyone was done eating they were all headed back to the living room when the phone rang. Fitz left the room to go take the call in another room knowing that any call this late at night must be at least somewhat important. Once he was finished he started heading back to where everyone was but stopped short of the door when he heard giggling. He stood and listened for a second when he heard Karen's voice.

"Liv, do you remember that time we were playing hide and seek and I got stuck in the closet in your office?"

"Yes." She laughed. "Everyone was looking for you for an hour. We were terrified that something had happened to you."

"What about that time you snuck us ice cream because mom and dad had a campaign stop to make and couldn't take us like they promised?" He was surprised to hear Jerry actually initiating conversation.

"And I made you guys promise not to tell but one of you forgot to throw a carton away." Fitz walked back into the room with a smile on his face.

"What's going on here?" He grabbed Teddy out of the play pen he had been sitting in and placed him in his lap.

"We were talking about when we were younger and Liv was around." Karen answered.

Liv looked down at her watch and noticed that it was a little later than she thought it was. "It's getting kind of late. I should probably go." She stood up and Fitz did the same, handing Teddy to Karen.

"I'll walk you out."

"Bye." Karen and Jerry spoke at the same time.

"Bye guys."

Once they were out of the sight of the kids, Olivia's hand was in Fitz's. "How did you manage to get Jerry talking?"

"If I knew I would tell you. We were just sitting there, in silence, of course. Karen brought up when we were all still on the campaign trail and he just opened up."

"Well, the fact that he said anything is a good sign." He leaned down and kissed her.

"Yeah. They're still the amazing kids I remember."

"That they are."

They reached the door that lead to the car that was waiting to take her home. "I should go."

"You should go." They smiled at each other.

"I'll call you when I get home." She reached up to kiss him.

"Please do."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"I am home safe and sound." Olivia sank further into the pillows on her bed.

"Good. Thanks for coming tonight. It was nice having you here."

"Of course. I loved being there."

"I'm sorry about things being a little awkward in the beginning."

"It's okay. Besides we both know they still probably need a little bit more time to adjust."

"Yeah." He smiled. "But Teddy seemed to like you at least." They both laughed thinking about Teddy trying to say Livvie but instead saying, "Liwwie." They talked for a little while longer until he heard her yawn. "I think you need to go to sleep, so I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Okay." She yawned again. "I love you."

He couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. "I love you too."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

For the past few Thursdays, Olivia would have dinner with Fitz and the kids. They had all gradually began warming up to her and the idea of her being around. Even Jerry was friendly to Olivia when she was around, which was..shocking.

On yet another Thursday evening, Olivia walked into the residence where she was going to wait with the kids for Fitz to come up from the Oval.

"Hi Liv."

"Hey Karen. Where is everyone?" Olivia asked looking around at the empty living room.

"Teddy hasn't woken up from his nap and I think Jerry is playing a game or something." She said shrugging.

"Okay." Walking over to one of the sofas in the room Liv sat her bag and jacket down before turning back to Karen. "What are you doing?"

"Homework." She answered simply gesturing to the word document open on her computer. "I'm writing a paper."

"Yeah? What about?" Olivia sat down beside her.

"The American Revolution." She said sounding less than enthused about it.

"Well don't sound so excited." They both chuckled.

"There are so many better things I could doing with my time than writing this stupid paper."

"Like what?"

Karen hesitated for minute thinking. "I don't know but I'm sure I could think of something."

"Okay. If you say so."

At the same time she finished her sentence Fitz walked through the door. He stopped in the same place Olivia had when she entered and looked around. "Hey ladies." He walked over towards them and kissed Olivia on the lips and Karen of the head. "Where is everyone?"

"Teddy's taking a nap and Jerry's playing a game." Olivia answered him watching as he removed his suit jacket.

He nodded. "Working on your paper Kare?"

"Yeah but I think I'm going to take a break. I have been staring at this screen forever. The words are starting to jumble together." She closed the screen. "Hey Liv, can you read over it when it's finished?"

"Sure."

Putting on an offended expression. "Why can't I read it?"

"Daddy you're a busy man." She patted his shoulder as she stood up. "And besides I got a C on the last paper you helped me with."

"I apologized for that." He yelled as she turned to corner and headed to her room. He looked at Olivia who was laughing at the exchange.

"Honey, don't tell me you're jealous."

"Yeah I am a little bit." Olivia continued to laugh at him as he removed his tie. Karen returned with Jerry behind her.

"Hey Liv." He sat on the chair across from them.

"Hey Jerry." She smiled at him.

"Dad." He turned to his father. "What's for dinner?"

"Well." He started rolling up his sleeves. "I thought I would cook something." Everyone turned to look at him with faces that ranged from confusion to disgust. "What?" He asked when he noticed all of their faces.

"Dad. You can't cook." Jerry said shaking his head.

"Liv's here you wouldn't want her to have to suffer through your cooking would you?" Karen asked.

"I can cook."

"No! You can't." Karen and Jerry said at the same time. Olivia chuckled at the three of them.

"You are all lucky that was a joke."

Dinner was prepared by the White House chef as usual and it was delicious. After having dessert everyone sat down in the living room to relax.

"Liv." Karen asked twiddling her thumbs.

"What's up, sweetie?"

"Well..There is this dance coming up at school and we have to dress up and I was kind of wondering if you could maybe help me pick out a dress? I mean Daddy isn't exactly a fashion guru and Mom's not here and you always dress really nice and-"

Fitz and Olivia looked at each other, a small smile grew on his lips. "Karen, honey, of course. I would love to help you."

"Really?!" She smiled. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome." She returned the smile.

"I have these books I can show you. Hold on I'll go get them." She was preparing to hop off of the sofa when Fitz spoke.

"Kare maybe you can show her later, okay? It's almost time for Liv to go."

The smile faded from her face. "Okay then." She looked at Olivia. "Next time." Olivia nodded at her.

"I actually should go. I still have work to do." She stood up and gathered her things. "Bye guys."

Fitz stood up with her so that he could walk her out. They began to make their way to the exit, stopping to say their goodbyes. Olivia promised to call him when she was home to let him know she made it safe. Olivia walked outside towards her car a smile on her face when she saw the first flash. Then a second and a third. Soon all she could see was light.

**Well guys this is it. I'm so sorry it took this long. Hopefully it won't be this long in between updates for a while. *fingers crossed* Let me know what you think. Until next time...**


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